


Subsellium

by maq_moon



Category: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genre: Gen, Home, Jupiter Ascending Fic Challenge, and the Oscar goes to..., anti-splice sentiment, lies are a necessity, titus goes to court
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 14:33:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5167427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maq_moon/pseuds/maq_moon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With Caine unable to testify at his hearing for attempted regicide, Titus will be heading home at any moment. But Jupiter is intent on justice.</p><p>{{FYJA Fic Challenge- Going Home}}</p>
            </blockquote>





	Subsellium

**Author's Note:**

> Title is Latin for "court of law"

Subsellium

            "I swear that the testimony I am about to speak is complete and given with fullest sincerity."

            Titus loved watching Entitleds squirm as they confessed their sins in open court. They were fools, those people- foolish for getting caught and foolish for 'speaking the complete truth with full sincerity'. Not everyone did: these would scratch their noses, duck their heads, and tug on their guilty little ears as they lied. Really, they were old enough that they ought to know better. The penalties they faced for their crimes were oh-so-much-worse if they lied, the Aegis said. Titus was of the opinion that the idiots should just tell their stupid truths if they couldn't string together a few falsehoods believably. He was known for throwing his head back and laughing, at times disrupting the proceedings. The seven judges, hooded to hide their faces, had reprimanded him on multiple occasions.

            He didn't plan on laughing on this particular day. The crime brought before the Court was attempted regicide, and he was the accused. This was not the time to make merry. He had stayed still in his seat, occasionally sipping sweetened water, as his alleged crimes were recounted. They would show video evidence, bring in the witnesses, then he would present his defense, and then came sentencing. The last failed attempt at regicide had taken place so long ago that the administrators on Orous couldn't even find the sheave with the name of the perpetrator and his sentence. That left no precedent, and Titus's representative had been wringing his hands about it for weeks. Titus wasn't half so worried.

            "Kalique Abrasax!" a voice boomed. His sister, demure and modestly dressed but still the most ostentatious creature in the room, glided forward to the seven adjudicators.

            "I swear that the testimony I am about to speak is complete and given with fullest sincerity," she said soberly. "I became reacquainted with my late mother by way of her authentic recurrence, Her Majesty Jupiter Jones. A pair of bounty hunters contacted me saying they were under orders from my elder brother, Balem, may he get well soon, to kill her. They believed I would offer them a better bargain, or perhaps that Balem would renege or exterminate them once the transfer of Her Majesty's body had been made. Whatever the reason, they brought Her Majesty to my alcazar on Cerise for a predetermined and quite fair amount of RegeneX as recompense. Around the same time, I became aware that Titus- the accused, that is- had also hired someone to retrieve, but not harm, Mother's recurrence. Her Majesty and I got on well, and I explained to her a few things about her new life, the most pertinent being her will and the ownership of Earth. I told her that, should she meet the accused, he would attempt to prevent her from claiming her Title, and I planned to take her to the Commonwealth Ministry. It was then that a lycantant, the hunter hired by the accused, put a gun to my head." The audience gasped collectively. "Her Majesty was able to calm him quickly enough, and he accompanied her on an Aegis cruiser to Orous."

            "Is this the same splice in custody for destroying an Abrasax refinery?" a judge asked.

            "Yes, it is."

            "Is it your belief that the accused knowingly chose a violent creature in the hopes that Her Majesty would be harmed?" questioned another.

            Kalique scoffed. "As if Titus were capable of harming Mother. They were very close. No, he would never put her in jeopardy. A lycantant is the obvious choice for tracking a Recurrence, don't you think?"

            _My clever, clever sister_ , Titus thought as she was dismissed. He bit his bottom lip lightly and craned his neck to watch her walk away. _No, I would never have hurt Mother_.

            "Her Majesty Jupiter Jones, Authentic Recurrence of the Abrasax Sovereign!"

            "I swear that the testimony I am about to speak is complete and given with fullest sincerity," Jupiter said. The audience openly gaped at her, so like Seraphi and so unlike her. They whispered behind their hands that the Recurrence lacked Seraphi's grace and poise... and what was she _wearing_?

            "So I first met Titus when he kidnapped me."

            "Your Majesty," a judge interjected, "no grievances were filed concerning unlawful detainment."

            "Well, I didn't think it was necessary to file a _tax grievance_ when the man is on trial for trying to kill me."

            "Be that as it may, Your Majesty, as no grievance was filed there is no record of detainment. Henceforth, calling the accused a 'kidnapper' will result in slander charges."

            "What a crock," Jupiter spat. "Okay, I first met Titus when I was very ungraciously separated from Caine and the crew of the Aegis ship I'd been on by a bunch of weapons in my face and a splice in dangerously high heels. They took me to his ship, where I told him I would be filing a tax grievance unless he took me home. We had dinner. He showed me a room full of RegeneX and said his mother wanted to end its production-" an outraged cry from the crowd- "and that's why she was murdered. Then he said he thought he was next because he had begun expressing a similar interest in discontinuing the product." Titus widened his eyes and looked around; people were shocked, disbelieving. "He said he had four planets that he didn't want his siblings to get if he was murdered and that he wanted to make sure I was his heir. He asked me to marry him." Jupiter paused, expecting a reaction. All she heard was a gruff order to continue. "O-kay, I guess I'm the only one who thinks that's weird. I took some time to think, then decided to go along with it. When I tried to back out at the last second, he forced my hand in place so the ring would be executed. In the nick of time, Caine busted in and told me that Titus had planned to kill me as soon as we were married. Then he called me gullible. And that's it."

            "So the accused never treated you violently?"

            "Not directly, no, but he threw Caine out of the airlock and told him-"

            "And he never said anything threatening?"

            "You'll have to ask Caine his exact words."

            "Your Majesty, splices have no place in High Courts."

            "Wh-what?" Jupiter asked, stupefied. "They're just as smart as the next guy, and their senses are sometimes better than ours, so their testimony is reliable and should be admissible."

            Whispers echoed throughout the hall: _splice-lover_.

            "One should be judged by their peers. Do you keep dogs in your courtrooms on Earth, Your Majesty? We understand your ignorance in this; it takes Tercies time to adjust to civilized society. I will ask again: did the accused say anything threatening or do anything violent?"

            "He grabbed my hand and tried to force me to marry him. It made my wrist hurt and my finger burn. I'm done. This is ridiculous." As she stormed back to her seat, Titus heard laughter.

            "She makes an exit like Seraphi, that's for sure!"

            "How _adorably_ backwater she is!"

            "They _are_ funny when they don't know how to play, aren't they?"

            They really, really were. Had no one coached Miss Jones? Had her pride gotten in the way of that? Or did she not realize that her beloved junkyard dog was worth less than shit on her boot? Maybe the judicial system was different on Earth and someone told her it was similar. Oh, that would be amusing! It was the sort of thing he would do. Perhaps Kalique had done just that; he would kiss her if she had. Titus was so caught up in his mirthful musings that he missed the swearing-in of the vicar.

            "The accused said the proper words, received the bond, and turned to Her Majesty. She said the words and let the ring begin to execute. Then the ship began shaking like the dickens. Pieces of the ceiling were falling, it was chaos. The accused took hold of Her Majesty's hand, but then we were set upon by the lycantant and his accusations."

            "Did the accused threaten Her Majesty?" one of the seven asked.

            "On the contrary," the vicar said. "He calmed her. She was afraid of the crowd of Sims and anxious because weddings on Earth are typically between lovers. He told her that the Sims were a necessary part of the ceremony and that the marriage was a contract."

            "Did the accused violently take hold of Her Majesty?"

            "Everything was shaking. I have no doubt that even the slightest of touches in that situation could leave a bruise. I touched no one and walked away black and blue. I therefore couldn't say if it was intentionally violent or not. I can tell you with certainty that she said the words. She was of sound mind and agreed of her own volition. She looked the part, too."

            "And the splice?"

            "He told Her Majesty that the accused was planning an assassination."

            "Did he provide proof?"

            "Just his words and a gun to Lord Titus's head. He even asked Her Majesty for permission to kill the accused. She denied him, obviously."

            "Was anyone else present?"

            "The Sims and a splice. It's the accused's secretary, I believe."

            The hall was abuzz with chatter, and Titus had a good idea what it was about: Caine Wise. _Poor_ Jupiter, new to this world, was being manipulated by a brutal splice, and _poor_ Titus was paying the price.

            "Titus Abrasax!"

            He looked at his feet as he walked forward, prison clothes chafing his thighs. _I'll be out of them soon_ , he thought. _Back in silk, surrounded by women and feathers and the glow of an anti-grav chamber... But first, play the part_.

            "I swear," he said slowly, deliberately, "that the testimony I am about to speak is complete and given with fullest sincerity.

            "A friend," he began, "tipped me off to Mother's gene print recurrence. As many of you know, my mother and I were very close. Knowing that..." he took a long, shuddering breath. "Finding out that she was back after so long was- I don't even know the word. There isn't just _one_ word. I had to have her back. I realize it sounds silly, a man grown talking this way about wanting his mummy, but put yourself in my position. I hadn't seen her in, oh, two hundred years before she was murdered. I didn't get to say goodbye. A thousand years pass, two, three, and then you hear she's out there- and you _need_ her."

            "Get on with it," said a judge, but softly. _I have that one_.

            "Yes, my apologies. I knew the Recurrence was on Earth, almost as if Mother had planned it. That was her favorite planet, you see. But Earth has almost seven billion people. Where to start? Lycantants are excellent trackers, but I couldn't very well ask the Legion to spare any; they're busy keeping the 'Verse in order. So I looked at convicts in the Dead Lands. The splice I hired had been blanked after his crime and only knew that he had bitten an Entitled because he had been told so." _Pause for effect._

            "Could it be Lord Balem?" "A vicious mutt!" "Why wasn't it put down?" _There it is._

            "The Overseer said that the lycantant was docile now, but resourceful and the best he'd ever seen. A legend, he'd called him. I hired the lycantant; his payment was to be a pardon for himself and another splice who, I assure you, had committed no violent crime and was working for the Aegis.

            "As Third Primary, my mother left me but little in her will. She gave me four beautiful planets, one of which will be ready for Harvest in a century or so. Balem was given Earth, where Mother's Recurrence was living. I had to be careful. My brother, may he recover swiftly-" _bow your head_ \- "owned that planet at the time and would have been negatively impacted by the Recurrence surfacing. I knew I had to act swiftly, to spirit her to safety before my brother could do her harm. I sent the hunter to Earth with no details about her identity. He found and recovered her. I sent transport, which Her Majesty entered willingly, as you saw on the cam footage. Balem then sent his bounty hunters to kill Mother."

            He turned to the board of adjudicators. "I do hope, and humbly request, that he will not be prosecuted. He has been through enough at the hands of the lycantant and, by proxy, Her Majesty. Certainly their crimes offset." His entreating eyes flitted from one judge to another until one responded.

            "We will take your words into consideration."

            "Thank you," Titus said, exhaling heavily. "To continue, the bounty hunters thankfully betrayed him and took Mother to my sister. The lycantant followed and, as Kalique testified, threatened her with advanced weaponry. At this point, the lycantant should have, as per our arrangement, brought Her Majesty to me. Instead, he rashly broke our contract and took her to Orous. My people caught up with them there. Breach of contract on his part was to result in an immediate severe punishment, either a return to the Dead Lands or banishment to the Void, whichever I determined. Instead, because he was a friend to Her Majesty, I simply kept him incarcerated.

            "Her Majesty says I kidnapped her. She did ask to be taken home. Immediately upon hearing her request, I ordered the ensign to head for Earth. During the journey, she was kind enough to join me for dinner. It was surreal." _Smile like an idiot. Good_. "She was so like Mother, and yet so unlike her. She wanted to know about RegeneX. My sister had shown her its uses but not informed her of its production process. Here is an example of where she differs from Mother: RegeneX disgusts her. She dropped an entire canister." _Purse your lips, shake your head..._ "One hundred years, wasted.

            "I'm afraid Her Majesty is mistaken about Mother wanting to end production. First, how can one person, even someone so powerful, end an entire enterprise? Second, she loved her children too much to abandon us to finding our own way grasping in the dark. Third, receipts show her trading up until her death. I do not know how Her Majesty came to this conclusion. As for the notion that _I_ would end production... Well, a man has to make his fortune somehow, and that's the best way I know. Supply and demand. And how wonderful it is to be young!"

            _Pause for laughter. There, good. Just a smattering. You don't want to be too funny_.

            "I did have a fear of death; Her Majesty was correct about that. My brother is a corporate shark. He'll do anything to increase his yield. However, Balem is clinging to life. What have I to fear now? Nothing.

            "As for the wedding, I confess myself selfish. I wanted Earth. There's no crime in ambition, however. I would have gotten that planet, but she would have gotten mine. Share and share alike. Yes, Earth is more valuable than all of my estates combined. I know. That's where the selfishness comes in. How much RegeneX could I make with seven billion people? But Mother always knew that she needn't fear me. All I gained from her absence was more empty years. And had anything happened to her, my fault or someone else's, the lycantant would have decorated the floor with my brains."

            _Let them get an image_.

            "What about this call for warhammers to be launched just after the beginning of the wedding? The Aegis confirms the weapons, your sheaves confirm the order."

            "The order didn't come from me," Titus said stroppily. "I was a bit busy. Bring the vicar back if you doubt the timing. The sheave should say who gave the order. Doesn't it?"

            "A splice."

            _Deep frown. Oh Famulus, you beautiful creature, I hope you took some precautions_.

            "A splice? Impossible. I wouldn't allow one of _those_ to have a weapons position."

            "It came from a horse splice, it seems."

            _Good girl, Famulus_.

            "They're only good for hard labor," Titus scoffed. His audience whispered their agreements. "I ask that the Court release the name of the splice to my sister Kalique so that it may be prosecuted by an Abrasax should I be found responsible."

            "So allowed," a judge said, tucking a sheave aside.

            "Why would Her Majesty think that you wanted to end production of RegeneX?" asked a new voice.

            "Because I told her so," Titus said. _Yes, gasp away, fools_. After a call for silence, he elaborated. "Her Majesty does not yet fully understand RegeneX. She thinks it's a product made in a manner akin to butchering cattle. I have said that I wanted Earth. She wouldn't have married me if she knew I intended to Harvest it. My idea was to have Her Majesty speak with the Marshals and Administrators involved in the process so that she would understand how humane Harvesting is. She's a smart woman; she would have caught on quickly."

            "And if she didn't? If her distaste for RegeneX continued?"

            _I know what you're insinuating. You want me to stop and think for a moment, as if I hadn't considered this_.

            "If her distaste continued, she would die within about eighty years and Earth would belong singularly to me. What's eighty years? While I would have certainly mourned Mother's loss...again..." _let your eyes go out of focus_ "...it would have been her choice this time, and I would get to say goodbye." _Yes, now your eyes are nice and watery_.

            "Her Majesty said that you called her 'gullible'. If that's the case, why would you say it?"

            "Because it was true. Perhaps she has grown more wise since then. I truly hope so. But to believe the word of a splice whose violent history she knew and whom she had seen point a gun at my sister! Yes, she was gullible. It was rude of me to say so, but true nonetheless."

            "Have you anything else to say before we determine your responsibility?"

            "Only that I do not hold Her Majesty to blame for my situation. I made a mistake when I chose that lycantant, and he was obviously able to touch her in some way that made her take his word over mine. Mother always was sentimental." He looked directly at Jupiter, sitting in a gilded chair in the front row. "Honestly, it's not your fault." Jupiter turned her head aside.

            Titus was dismissed to his seat and the adjudicators retired to their deliberation room.

            "Quite a performance," his representative said admiringly.

            "It wasn't all a performance," Titus replied, looking grave. "Before my sister spoke, there was some damning video, if you recall."

            "I do. I also recall our prep sessions. We put a lot of work into a proper defense, Lord Titus."

            "Yes, but the audience seemed eager to blame the lycantant. I went off the cuff."

            "Let's hope it worked."

            "For your sake especially," Titus said. "My brother, if by some miracle he pulls through, will undoubtedly thank you if I'm found responsible. My sister, on the other hand, is quite healthy and seems to love me at least a little. You'll get no thanks from her if they decide I am responsible."

            "I'm acutely aware," the representative said.

            A scant two hours later, the seven were ready to deliver their judgment.

            "Titus Abrasax, Third Primary of House Abrasax, we have come to our conclusion," said the judge who sat in the center. Beneath the table, Titus clenched his fists. His face was the picture of serenity. "We did not reach a unanimous decision, so you will hear our conclusions one at a time."

            "For hiring a known vicious splice: Responsible."

            Titus flinched.

            "Because of hearsay: Not Responsible."

            He sighed.

            "Because of good intentions: Not Responsible."

            "For hiring a violent lycantant: Responsible."

            _Two of each? The splice was supposed to be my way out!_

            "Because all violent crimes were committed by a splice: Not Responsible."

            _Just one more, just one more..._

            "For not immediately terminating the lycantant upon breach of contract: Responsible."

            No. The splice angle was supposed to be a sure thing. Titus began to shake. One person would decide his fate. One person. Was it someone who had chastised him for laughing in a previous session? Was it someone with a bleeding heart and a soft spot for splices? Or was it someone who had ears, who had eyes, who looked at the truthful cam evidence and heard the slippery truths and well-trained lies?

            "Abstain."

            The crowd gasped and Titus's eyebrows shot up. Abstain? Why couldn't they come to a decision one way or another and set him free or let him face his sentence? Couldn't they just flip a bloody coin? No one abstained, lest they create a tie, because a tie meant something _awful_.

            "As we have a tie," the adjudicator in the middle said uncomfortably, "you will be kept in the custody of the Aegis until such time as more witnesses or more evidence can be supplied. You will be denied RegeneX and Re-Codes unless they are medically necessary or your life must be prolonged due to the wait."

            Titus's jaw dropped. There were never more witnesses found. New evidence was never brought forth. Life in prison. Life in _hell_ , and it would be a long one.

            He didn't remember being transported to the facility, his new home for eternity. It was nowhere near nice enough for an Abrasax, he knew. The thread count on the sheets was too low and the food was borderline edible, but he could wear his own clothes and have visitors whenever he liked. Small blessings. Kalique arrived only minutes after he did.

            "Welcome to my humble abode," he said mockingly, giving a flourishing bow.

            "Balem woke," she said, embracing him, "while they were coming to their decisions. My spies say that they received a few FTLs in their chamber. It can't be a coincidence."

            "I asked them to show him _leniency_ ," Titus said, laughing mirthlessly, "and he puts me in here forever."

            "Don't worry, little brother. I have it all worked out. Best not talk about it here, but Maledictes is acquiring a new witness."

            "Acquiring?" he asked, raising one eyebrow. "Why, sister dear, I didn't know you loved me quite so much as this."

            Kalique laughed. "Oh, Titus, I'm not helping you for _love_. I'm helping you because you're tarnishing the family name. I suppose that with these accusations, Balem might decide to file a disinheritance petition; he's been looking for a reason ever since Mother died, you know. But you have a way with people, little brother. They like you, and that makes you useful. People love liars."

            "I prefer to think of myself as an actor."

            "Aren't they the same thing?" Kalique asked, kissing him on the cheek. "Now, I'm off to visit Balem and tell him the 'good news' about your permanent incarceration. I'll visit soon, give you updates on my witness acquisition progress, and bring you some things from home. We'll spruce up the place so that you'll hardly be able to tell it's a prison."

            As she was crossing the threshold to freedom, Kalique stopped. Without turning around, she spoke. "I do love you, Titus, truly. But love is a liability. I have myself and our name to think of. You understand."

            "Yes," Titus said. "I understand completely."

 

           

           

   

**Author's Note:**

> So I got this idea from a few sources. I decided I wanted to write about Titus because salamanderinspace writes him so beautifully and I can't hope to achieve that level of awesome without starting somewhere. Seriously, her meta is the best meta and you should go read EVERYTHING right now if you love Titus. I decided to play with a courtroom because of stories I've heard all my life. I come from a very small Southern town and my parents weren't exactly from the rich side of it, so instead of watching TV, they & their friends would go to the courthouse for entertainment. I think Titus is the type who would revel in the downfall of his peers, so he's a courthouse regular.  
> I took some liberties with the theme of the challenge. Initially I wrote that he went free, but I thought that was too predictable, so he couldn't return to his *actual* home. I hope you like my little change.  
> I'm rambling because it's 2 AM. I'll shut up now. Thanks for reading! Comments and concrit appreciated!


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